Prologue: The dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin once controlled this entire region. Outposts—small cities—were built in convenient caverns. When the gates of Thorbardin were sealed forever during the Dwarfgate War, those small outposts were left to fend for themselves. Only one of the outposts survived, but even that is inhabited now only by the ludicrous Aghar dwarves... Use the Steam Caverns Map on pages 16 and 17 for this chapter.
33. northern entrance
All three corridors are 60 feet wide. Giant, broken statues line the way. The ceiling is 100 feet overhead.
35. Southern Route A corridor runs southwest 600 feet and then turns southeast for 600 feet. As you travel down this corridor, the temperature changes from uncomfortably hot to comfortably cool. The clouds of steam thin and disappear.
Clouds of warm steam pour from a carved opening in the mountain wall. A corridor 60 feet wide runs deep into the mountain. Giant statues, now broken, line the hall. The broken statues are of dwarven heroes, long dead. There is nothing special about them. The corridor runs 600 feet southeast to Encounter Area 34. The air grows warmer further down the corridor, becoming uncomfortably hot. The Northern Entrance connects to Encounter Area 8, Chapter 11. 34. Junction The steam grows hotter and thicker here. Three corridors intersect at this point: one leads northwest, one east, and one southwest. To the east, the steam gets denser and hotter and a distant hissing sound is heard.
36. Eastern Road A corridor runs east 280 feet, then turns southeast and runs 50 feet. The clouds of steam become thicker and hotter. Vision is limited to 10 feet regardless of light source. The heat quickly grows unbearable. If characters take off armor and winter garb they can progress normally. If characters do not, they lose 1 point of Constitution every round they remain in the area. If a character’s Constitution reaches zero, he faints and does not revive until brought to a cooler location. Lost Constitution points return after 1d10 rounds in a cooler environment. 14
37. Steam Caverns Natural vents in the earth blast forth steam. The roar of the escaping steam is deafening. A maze of stalagmites and stalagtites covers a huge cavern. Characters cannot see farther than 10 feet regardless of light source. Infravision cannot be used. For each 5 feet characters travel in the steam, there is a 1/3 chance (1 or 2 on 1d6) that their path is blocked by either a steam vent or a stalagmite. Lurking in the cavern are 10 ogres, a vanguard of Verminaard’s army searching for the refugees. They wandered into this cavern through the south entrance and, liking the warmth, have decided to stay for a while. They attack the heroes, trying for surprise, and fight until killed. Constitution penalties (as in Area 36) also apply here. 38. the Steam City Although this city once held over 1,000 dwarves, now only 200 Aghar dwarves live here. The Steam City is a fine example of dwarven architecture, consisting of traditional “map blocks” grouped together to build a community. (Dwarven architecture is discussed in detail in DL 4, Dragons of Desolation.) Now, most of the city has fallen into ruin. Each “map block” is described in one Encounter section. The players should not try to explore the entire city. If the players should stray off course, improvise encounters with the Aghar society, such as it is.